Torn With Time
by GhostNox181
Summary: Once upon a time, a great Demon Lord fell in love with a human. Who would have known that years later, after memories sealed, hope lost, personalities changed; his younger brother would fall in love with the same one? Who will she choose?
1. Back To The Future

**Hey Inuyasha Fans. This isn't my first fic, but it's my first attempt at an Inuyasha fanfiction….so I'm not quite sure what the result will be like. I really enjoy Sess/Kag pairings and stories, and said "Hey, I think I'll give it a shot. Lord knows I've read plenty." So here I am, inspiration in my head, plotline already written down so I can't complain of not knowing where to go with the story, motivation kicking at my butt (internet giving me a hard time. It has a mind of its own), and a word document all open and ready. **

**Right. So, as I said, this is my first attempt, so don't shoot me if I make mistakes. **

**Ummm. Basics. Naturally, **"this is talking", '_this is thinking'_, _and this is flashbacks/dreams._

**As my only disclaimer: I do not, repeat, do NOT own anything Inuyasha related, excepting the various items I have bought from stores. Like my calendar, which had Sesshomaru as July's picture, and that's my birth month. *squee!* Anyways. I only own the story as a whole. **

**And, moving on from the hideously long author's note, at last my story begins.**

**Chapter One**

_~ "I won't forget you. Not really. A part of me will always remember." ~_

"SIT!"

A girl with flowing raven tresses spun on her heel and stormed from the camp her and her friends had made for the night. Her friends watched as the enchanted beads around the hanyou that traveled with them glowed, before pulling him face first to the ground. A large thud could be heard, along with a muffled "oof!" as the half-demon got a face full of dirt. The youngest member of the group sniggered, enjoying seeing his bully bullied for once.

"Now, now Inuyasha. Was that really the best way to treat this situation?" A monk donned in purple robes preached, his golden staff lying next to him.

A low growl was his reply from the face on the ground.

"Miroku's right. You know how Kagome feels about her studies. If she has one of these exams tomorrow, it's not right for you to deny her tonight to study, tomorrow to take it, and another day to spend with her family." A female demon exterminator added. Her huge boomerang, Hiraikotsu, was leaning up against a tree behind her. Her best friend, a fire neko, Kirara, was curled up in her lap, purring.

"It's only three days, Inuyasha. We can resume our hunt for the Shikon shards after Kagome takes her exam. She will be in a much better mood if you let her return to her time. She might even bring us back more treats." Shippou told the hanyou, who was now sitting up and dusting himself off.

Inuyasha crossed his arms in defiance, but his ears twitched. If he let Kagome return to her time for this 'math' exam, he could get more ramen. The temptation was definitely there.

"Of course, she'll bring me treats anyway. It depends on whether or not you irritated her that will get you something." The little fox demon added smugly. Inuyasha's ear twitched in irritation, and a moment later the younger demon had small welt on his head and was cowering behind Miroku.

"Inuyasha you bully!"

"Feh. Wimp."

"Inuyasha, shouldn't you go find Kagome? She looked pretty mad when she stormed into the forest. She probably won't come back for awhile, not on her own." Sango suggested, wanting Inuyasha to find her friend, but also stopping a fight between the half demon and the young kitsune.

"Whatever. She's probably lost anyway." He said, as he bounded in the direction Kagome left in, following her scent.

}-{

"Stupid Inuyasha. Why do I even have to ask his permission? I just want to go home! At this rate it's going to be too late to study and even if I did go back I'd fail. Oh he just makes me so mad! 'You can't go back, we have to collect jewel shards! You went back two weeks ago!' Oh gee Inuyasha, thanks. I can only see my family when he wants me to. It's been two weeks, Mama probably thinks the worst. Oh I can't even begin to imagine want Grandpa has been telling everyone I have. It's an exam! Just a stupid exam! It'll be three days! I'm not going to be gone for a week! Stupid Inuyasha!" Kagome muttered to herself, pushing her way through trees and shrubs, stumbling occasionally on a rock or tree root.

She had no real clue where she was wandering off to, just that she was seriously angry at a certain hanyou and that she wanted to put as much distance between herself and him as possible.

Only when she tripped over a particularly raised root did she stop to consider just how far she had walked. She pushed herself into a sitting position and tried to gather her surroundings, but recognized nothing; she could not even tell which direction she had walked from. She tried standing up, but a sharp pain in her ankle stopped her.

"Oh great, that's just great. I'm lost and my ankle is sprained. This forest is probably crawling with youkai. And it will be dark soon. This is wonderful. Good going Kagome, you always get yourself into these situations." She sighed and crawled over to the nearest tree, resting back against it.

Suddenly she felt as if she were being watched. There was a tickling sensation spreading through her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around, holding her breath, listening carefully. She could detect nothing close by, but the sensation remained. Someone, or something, was in close proximity, watching her was she sat there. Every nerve was on alert as she waited for some sign for this being to show itself.

But the sensation disappeared. She was alone once more.

Until a figure clad in red came walking up to her. He saw her sitting down, her hand resting lightly on her ankle and put two and two together.

"What did you do this time?" Inuyasha asked, squatting down beside her. Kagome glared at him, refusing to speak; still mad he would not take her to the well.

"I'll take you home alright? You just gotta bring more ramen." Inuyasha demanded, though there was a gentle tone in the way he did so. Kagome sighed and nodded.

"Can you stand?"

"I think I sprained my ankle. I tripped." She replied simply, rubbing her left ankle where it was swelling a little.

"Klutz." Inuyasha muttered, before picking Kagome up bridal style, and dashing towards the well to deliver her home to study for her exam. He didn't even notice the pair of eyes that followed his movements.

Two hours later, in Kagome's bedroom, Inuyasha hovered over Kagome's shoulder, watching her write.

For the last hour and half, she had been struggling to ignore his hovering, fully intent on studying the material she was taking a test on the following day. However, his restless behavior was beginning to drive her up the wall. Her fingers clenched around her pencil and her eye twitched in frustration.

"Inuyasha, you didn't need to come back with me. Really." She said, as calmly as she could manage.

Inuyasha sat down on her bed, legs crossed and arms crossed, nose in the air.

"Course I did. How would you have gotten out of the well?"

"Well you could have gone back. You aren't needed here. And you're irritating." Kagome said frankly. Inuyasha just sniffed and continued sitting on her bed. Kagome sighed and put her pencil down, figuring she was getting all the studying that she was going to get done, done.

"Really Inuyasha, I'm perfectly fine in my own era. You can go back. I promise to come back after my three days are up." Kagome said softly, turning around in her chair to look at the hanyou sitting on her bed. He opened one eye to stare at her.

"Feh. Fine. But if you're not back in three days, I'm coming back here and dragging your butt through the well, no questions asked, you hear me?" He growled, albeit playfully. Kagome just smiled and nodded, waving slightly as the half-demon leapt out her window and left.

Sighing she stood up and took out a pair of pajamas. "Finally, I can take a bath that's not outdoors." With that, she turned and made her way to the bathroom, taking advantage of her time home.

}-{

"Lord Sesshomaru! You're back! Look at the yummy fish Rin caught, Lord Sesshomaru!" A little girl wearing an orange and white checkered kimono, complimented by a green obi, called out to the tall daiyoukai. He gave an almost imperceptible nod to the child, acknowledging her, and she smiled a toothy grin at her lord before prancing to the fire to cook her fish.

"Jaken. We will be staying here longer." Sesshomaru told the green imp that had jumped up upon his arrival. The imp stuttered and bowed but the demon lord walked away before Jaken could say anything.

"Master Jaken! Would you like some fish? Rin did a good job cooking it this time!" Rin called to the imp from her place by the fire. Jaken turned to her, a look of disgust and disbelief on his face.

"Me? Eat food made by you? A mere human? Why I never! It's probably poisoned, you're trying to kill me! I would never eat food made by the likes of you! Silly human girl!" The imp stuttered. Rin simply laughed and ate at her fish anyways.

"Master Jaken, you're funny."

Sesshomaru was half listening to the bantering going on between his ward and his servant. Their useless chatter meant little to him. He was focused on the forest surrounding their campsite, or more the auras in it. Her aura was gone now, only a faint linger of it remaining here. It was as if she had simply vanished. Inuyasha's aura had just returned, but it was without hers. Her companions were still here as well. But hers was missing.

He had watched Inuyasha carry her to the well, had watched him jump into the well, had felt as both their presences disappeared from this world. The well confused him, he admitted that to himself. He knew that the girl went somewhere else when she left through the well. He knew it was not in this time. He did not understand why Inuyasha was allowed through however. He did not like not knowing.

He also did not like not having her on this side of the well, where her aura was present. He felt comforted knowing she was in his range, should that fool of a hanyou fail to protect her. He did not know if she was protected on the other side of the well. Before he could prevent it, he let out a low growl.

That human girl was troublesome. He had been following them for some time, hiding his aura, and masking his scent from Inuyasha. At first he had been doubtful. This girl, she dressed differently. Her scent was a tad different. And the first time he came across his half brother and her, she showed no recognition. He almost killed the girl, for looking so much like her.

But she had survived. And her defiance and courage in facing off in front of him was just like her. And the way she conducted herself in daily life, humming as she walked, closing her eyes as she felt the first rays of the sun in the morning, demanding equality, it was exactly as he remembered. It could no doubt be her.

Yet she was with his brother. That filthy half-breed had Sesshomaru's human. This time he barely managed to suppress the growl that threatened.

She was in the world beyond the well right now, where he could not reach her. He would have to wait for her to come back, before implementing his plan. He would get her back. He had been waiting so long for her return. The hanyou would not stand in his way of getting his human back.

Sesshomaru acknowledged the fact that she did not remember. It did nothing to stop him. She would remember, one way or another. She made a vow, and nobody breaks a vow they make with the Lord of the Western Lands.

Sesshomaru turned away from his scanning of the forest and sat down, one knee drawn up, the other straight out. He glanced around the site his little group had made camp at. Rin was curled up against Ah-Un, fast asleep. Jaken was nodding off, leaning heavily against his staff for support, worn out from being chased around. The fire had dimmed to just glowing embers.

Remaining on high alert, Sesshomaru closed his eyes. He was not going to sleep, just merely resting his eyes. After all, he had to wait three days to see his human again.

**So, yes, no, maybe, it sucked? I would love to know! This was more of an intro than anything. Ask me questions, tell me concerns, give me compliments, really, anything is wonderful! Keep in mind this is a first attempt at an Inuyasha fanfiction so it may not be up to your expectations. **

**Reviews are welcome!**


	2. Inducted

**Back again. Wow, that didn't take long. Lucky for you guys, I'm really interested in this story, so as soon as I posted the first chapter, I got working on this one. Here I go!**

**Chapter Two**

_~ "There has to be a light, for there to be darkness." ~_

_A girl, no older than twelve, dressed a light blue kimono with a darker blue obi, traveled down the outer halls of the castle. If one were to ask her where she was going, or where she had been, she would reply with a peaceful "I don't know." She was utterly lost among the many hallways that lined the outside walls of the castle, but she was content with that. It gave her time to think. She was in no rush to get to somewhere, and nobody was waiting for her. Eventually, she knew, one of the many castle guards or servants would find her and lead her either to the room in which she was staying, or wherever she was needed. Until then, she was content to wander aimlessly amid the castle's many corridors._

_That is, until she stumbled upon a decently sized garden, surrounded by a wall. It was the perfect little secluded area._

_On the far side of the garden was a small pond, and even from this distance, she could see the crystal blue water had pink lotus blossoms floating lazily in it. On the opposite side of the pond was a large Sakura tree. The flowers were in full bloom, their delicate scent wafting over to her nose and unconsciously she took a few steps forward. A few paces away from the tree, but still beneath its branches, sat a stone large enough for one to sit on. Without really thinking, she walked over, avoiding the fragile white and pink wildflowers that dotted the stunningly green grass here and there, and sat down on the stone._

_She was surprised to find the rock large enough for her to cross her legs comfortably, well as comfortably as she could in a kimono, and still have room. Closing her eyes, completely at peace in her new found area, she began to meditate, calling upon her powers that lay inside her._

_After a few moments of careful meditation in which she had successfully reached the glowing ball of pink energy, she realized that someone was sitting beside her on the remaining room on the rock. She opened one eye and peered to the left of her, and gasped._

Kagome bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily. She glared at the alarm clock which had inconveniently started beeping annoyingly at a very interesting part of her dream. That garden had been so pretty, she would have willing stayed dreaming just to stare at it longer. She could practically still smell the cherry blossoms. If she closed her eyes, the image of the garden remained imprinted, although it was dulled a little.

She wondered briefly who the young girl was. It looked for a second as if it could have been an older version of the young child that followed Sesshomaru around, but she dismissed that thought. Why would she dream of that?

'_Perhaps it was a younger version of me?_ _But that would be impossible, I've never been to such a place. Well, dreams do convey strange things.'_

Only then did Kagome think to look at the clock that was still beeping loudly at her, and she screamed and fell out of bed in her haste to get to her closet.

"I'M LATE!"

Later that evening, Kagome stood in front of the stove cooking up some lunches for her friends. She had decided to return the following day instead of two days later. Inuyasha would certainly be happy.

It was more of the fact she couldn't stop thinking about her dream. She felt as if, here, something was making the dream leave. She wanted to see the garden again, it was such a pretty place. And she wanted to know who was sitting in the garden with her. If she went back to the feudal era, maybe they would chance upon the garden. She was certain it was there. Not only that, she just felt as though something was drawing her back.

"Kagome, the stove's on fire." Her mother told her, passing by the kitchen on the way to do laundry.

Kagome looked down at the stove in a daze only to realize, it was indeed, on fire. She jumped back, looked around, grabbed the flower pot off the table, and dumped it over the stove. Sitting down at the kitchen table, she rested her forehead against the hard wood.

"Inuyasha's right, I can't cook." She moaned.

"Nonsense. You just can't multitask." Her mother told, again walking past the door. Kagome moaned again, not knowing if what her mother was saying was supposed to be comforting or not.

"I feel bad for your friends Kagome, if all they get to eat is your cooking." Her younger brother, Sota, said, leaning up against the doorway to the kitchen. Kagome looked up at him.

"I'm a rather decent cook, thank you! Now I'm not going to buy you that video game you wanted for your birthday!" Sota looked at her in horror.

"But you promised! I'm sorry! You're an amazing cook! I love your food! Just buy me the game!" He cried. Kagome stood up smiling. She walked over and gave her brother a hug.

"Inuyasha rubs off on you." She said softly. She could feel her brother smile at the compliment.

"Kagome, I'm done with the laundry, how are the lunches?" Her mother asked from another room. Kagome let go of her brother to rub the back of her neck, laughing shakily.

"Ahaha, Mama, would you mind finishing up with that?" She heard he mother laugh from the hallway. "Oh and where are the candies? I promised that the next time I came back I'd brink cherry lollipops for Shippou. And Sango would love more chocolate."

"In the hall closet, dear." Her mother replied, already in the kitchen and cleaning up the mess Kagome had made.

"Thanks!"

}-{

Kagome tossed the large yellow bag up out of the well. She knew Inuyasha wouldn't be around to help her pull it out. He didn't even know she was coming back today. Oh well. She had brought extra ramen in case he got mad. Why would he get mad, you ask, if she came back early?

'_Because a demon could get me, I could get lost, I could get hurt, etc. Yeah right. He has no faith in me.' _Kagome sighed. She heard the thud signaling that the bag had landed safely outside the well, and began climbing up the vines.

She slipped a few times, but managed to pull herself up, stopping to sit on the edge to catch her breath. She took in a deep breath. She knew Inuyasha disliked her world, because it stank, and after being in the feudal era for so long, she was beginning to notice subtle differences in the smell. Here, it was much more fresh. The air felt more clean as she took it into her lungs.

Sighing, she hopped off the ledge of the well and stooped down to pick up her bag. She swung the bag over her shoulder and made to set off towards the village. Inuyasha would become aware of her presence shortly and would come get her, she was sure of it.

However as she took a step forward, a tickling sensation spread through her body. She dropped her bag to reach for her arrows and cursed, for she had left her arrows with her friends. Still, she stood tall and alert, breathing quietly, trying to locate the source that was causing her alarm. She could sense no strong demonic aura, but that didn't mean a thing.

It was extremely quiet, she realized. Not even birds were chirping. Everything was silent, and yet, she knew that there was something out there, something watching her. It was highly unsettling, but she didn't feel afraid. She felt more alarmed at the fact that she couldn't detect where it was coming from. She was uncomfortable with fact that she knew she was being watched, but that she didn't know by who.

She didn't realize that her eyes had settled on a certain section of the forest, a section the lay in the opposite direction of the village. She didn't know how long she had been staring at the spot, but for some odd reason she felt as if someone…was staring back.

Unconsciously, she took a step towards the place she was captivated by, almost as if it were drawing her in. The tickling sensation grew stronger, however minutely. She took another hesitant step, her hand half reaching out, both curious as to what was drawing her to this spot just beyond the trees, and hoping Inuyasha would arrive so she wouldn't have a reason to find out.

She took another few steps forward, feeling her eyes widen slightly as the sensation grew. Whatever was with her was definitely just beyond those trees. Why wouldn't it just show itself, instead of having her come to it?

'_Saving himself the trouble, I suppose.'_ She thought. The idea almost made her laugh. If it was a demon she was so captivated by, it would have already attacked. It would not have bothered with the watching and waiting process. She stopped in her progress forward. She would make the watcher come out. After all, why should she have to do all the work?

Just as the tingling sensation was growing stronger, and she felt as if whoever was watching her was about to come forward, Inuyasha came bounding into the clearing.

"You're early!" He called out to her, before noticing how far from the well she was standing, with her hand still half reaching out to the forest.

"Kagome? Something wrong?" Inuyasha asked as he started to sniff the air. His eye twitched in concentration. "Someone's here. I can't tell who. Did you see anybody?"

"No. But… it felt like someone was watching me. It was weird. I didn't sense anything. Oh Inuyasha! I brought ramen!" Kagome said, turning away from the mysterious section of the forest. Inuyasha's ears perked and his eyes lit up.

"Feh. I knew you would."

"You act like I do it just for you!"

"Of course you do! Who else would you do it for?" Kagome clenched her fists. She shows one ounce of doing something out of the kindness of her heart for that selfish creep and he turns it into an argument!

"Inuyasha…" She said sweetly. His ears went flat against his head, knowing all too well the voice she was using.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I-"

"SIT!" Kagome picked up her bag and stormed away from the fallen hanyou, her stalker temporarily forgotten. Though, he was still watching this scene, a small amused smile on his face.

Kagome walked through the forest heading towards the village. She had been in Inuyasha's presence only five minutes and already she had sat him! Unbelievable!

She sighed and shook her head. This had to be a record with him. She didn't understand how anyone could be so dense, so irritating, so…

Right next to her.

"So how much did you bring this time?" He asked. Before she could reply, he stopped walking and sniffed the air. She turned to look at him, but he was concentrating solely on whatever it was that he could smell that she could not.

He growled and placed his hand on the hilt of Tessaiga. He glared off in the direction they had come from.

"Inuyasha, what is it?" Kagome asked, wishing more than ever that she had her bow and arrows with her. She tried to sense what was coming but could still sense nothing.

"My brother decided to pay us a visit. Go back to the village Kagome." He growled, though it was not aimed at her. Kagome nodded and dropped her bag, knowing she could run faster without it. She hated running away, but she really was no use without a weapon.

'_I'll just get the others, and my arrows, and come back before he does anything stupid.'_

}-{

"Sending the human away? How nice of you."

"What do you want, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha snarled at the older demon that had casually walked up to him as if Inuyasha was an obstacle in his way on his morning stroll. Sesshomaru peered down at the hanyou with little interest.

Inuyasha had already pulled out his sword and was aiming the giant fang at the daiyoukai. Sesshomaru, however, was unperturbed. He knew his half-brother could not defeat him not matter how hard he tried.

"This Sesshomaru is not looking to fight." He told the half-demon. Shock was evident in Inuyasha's eyes, and Sesshomaru was briefly annoyed at how easily it was to read him.

"That's bull!" Inuyasha yelled. "You always come here looking for a fight!"

"Why ask about this Sesshomaru's purposes, if you think you already have them figured out?" The daiyoukai questioned. Inuyasha faltered a bit, knowing his older brother had a point. Nonetheless, he pointed the fang at Sesshomaru and glared.

"What have you come for? The Tessaiga?"

"Your weak sword is of no interest anymore." Sesshomaru said glancing towards the village. Inuyasha missed his eyes darting in direction Kagome had just left in, however, and merely snorted.

"Then what would you possibly want?" He asked, irritation creeping so easily into his voice. Sesshomaru resisted the urge to kill his half-breed of a brother on the spot, knowing it would hurt her. Though it would bring him satisfaction, knowing he would not have to listen to them bicker anymore.

"Let us wait for your friends. They shall arrive any moment." And no sooner had he said that did three humans, a fire neko, and a shaking kitsune rush on scene.

"Oh good, nobody's hurt." Kagome said smiling. Sesshomaru cocked his head slightly at her inclusion of himself in her statement.

"Everybody's here now. What the hell do you want, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha yelled, frustration clear in his voice. If Sesshomaru were the type to sigh, he would have. The hanyou's emotions were all too easily manipulated.

"An alliance against Naraku." There was a collective gasp from the group his was facing.

He could imagine their thoughts. It was quite amusing actually, because he was doing exactly the opposite of what they had always imagined him to do. 'Why form an alliance, he's always tried to kill us?' 'There has got to be an ulterior motive.' Things like that were no doubt shifting through their thoughts at this very moment in time.

"Sure!" An innocent voice chimed. To say the least, everyone in the forest was speechless.

"Kagome, are you insane? He's almost killed you on a few occasions, and we're not exactly the best of pals!" Inuyasha shouted at her. She pouted and turned away, smiling at the monk and demon slayer.

"Come on guys, it can't be that bad. We'll need all the help we can get. Who better than Sesshomaru right?" She said to them, smiling. Her friends looked uncertain. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, before her friend the demon slayer answered her.

"If you think it's okay, I don't see why not. You're always the first to object to something that doesn't feel right, circumstances pending." Kagome's smile shifted a fraction, and Sesshomaru, albeit admittedly confused for a moment, deducted that it was because of Inuyasha and that dead priestess. Certainly she wouldn't say it wasn't right to Inuyasha's face.

A little mewl from the fire neko indicated her approval, consenting now that her master and friend had consented.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I feel it would be an honor to have your help in this fight." The monk said at last, bowing to the demon lord slightly. Sesshomaru at least found one person among the group who gave him the respect he deserved.

"I don't really care who does what. Kagome thinks you're okay, so I think you're okay. Plus, you won't hit me like Inuyasha does." The little kitsune piped in, earning a glare from Inuyasha.

"Feh. Clearly I'm outnumbered." Inuyasha muttered and Kagome grinned. For once he wasn't arguing or fighting, or throwing stupid insults around. It was an improvement.

"So. Sesshomaru. Welcome to the group! Um… well when I got back we were going to set out to find some more jewel shards, so, here I am. Let's go!" Kagome said. At first, speaking to the newly inducted youkai, she was nervous and a little timid. But when it seemed clear he wasn't going to knock her head clean off with his claws or something, she gave him a brilliant smile.

"This Sesshomaru has items to retrieve."

"Right, you have that little… thing that follows you. Is it like a toad or something?" The kitsune asked from his perch on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome scolded him, but Sesshomaru merely ignored the little demon's outburst, much like he ignored the 'toad or something'.

"Don't you also have a human child?" The demon slayer asked. Sesshomaru turned his gaze from the fox demon and Kagome, to the slayer. She took it as a yes and smiled gently. She knew that he couldn't be that bad of a demon if he cared for a human child.

"Fine. You'll be able to meet up with us, I'm not stupid. Go get your little followers and catch up to us after." Inuyasha ordered. Sesshomaru looked as if he was going to say something insulting regarding the hanyou's intelligence, and ordering him around, but Kagome jumped in front of him with her hands up in front of her, as if in surrender. Though, from what Sesshomaru knew of the girl, she seemed like the last human on the planet who would ever surrender.

"Now Sesshomaru. We all know that Inuyasha has a big mouth. Don't keep the little girl waiting." She said, making shooing motions with her hands. The group was surprised to see Sesshomaru turn around and disappear in a ball of light.

"Kagome…did he just listen to you?" Kagome just looked at Sango confused. She hadn't really told him to leave, merely suggested it, in a heavily suggested fashion. Okay so maybe it was heavily implied…

"I think the more pressing matter is that we now have Sesshomaru in our group, no thanks to you!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Inuyasha, I would…use that word on you, but we need to get going." Kagome threatened calmly. Inuyasha's ears flattened slightly, but he turned and crouched down so she could climb onto his back. Miroku and Sango boarded the now larger Kirara, and Shippou perched on Kagome's shoulder. Inuyasha picked up the discarded yellow bag, and began to run, the others following close behind in the air.

}-{

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called out as the lord stepped into the clearing. She ran up to him, close enough to be in touching range, but not touching him. She knew her place, and seeing her lord was good enough.

"Gather your things, Rin." Sesshomaru said to the child, a hint of a gentle tone in his voice.

"Are we going somewhere Lord Sesshomaru?" The child asked him.

"Of course we are, you impudent human! Don't question Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken screeched at her. Rin ignored him and continued to stare at her lord.

"Rin, if you have nothing to gather, then board Ah-Un." Sesshomaru told the girl. She nodded and hurriedly climbed onto the two-headed dragon. A cloud formed beneath Sesshomaru's feet, allowing Jaken to fly with him. It was less of a hassle for him, instead of listening to him bicker with Rin the whole way.

They were not traveling very far, and it was quiet for a few moments once they were airborne.

"So, where are we going milord?" Jaken asked, even though he had silenced Rin for asking such questions.

"Silence Jaken." Jaken stuttered out an apology, throwing glares at Rin who was giggling behind her hands. Sesshomaru resisted the urge to smile at his ward's obvious pleasure in seeing his servant's devotion being shot down. Simple things like that amused her.

He hoped it would be as simple with his other human.

**And bada bing. Chapter two. No applause necessary. SO… reviews? That last bit I didn't like very much… but the rest I was okay with.**


	3. May I Teach Her

**Me: Yeah…. I died…. But Now I'm alive…. For…. However long that is….. So…. I'm not even going to apologize. It wouldn't be worth it. I can't promise how long my stay is gonna be….**

**Rebbie: Psh… You never commit to stories. Anyways, I was wondering when you would let me in. Hey there. If you haven't met me yet, I'm Rebbie. Basically, I'm here to argue with Venom. Tis all for fun and games, and purely to irritate her. Anyways, I have little to say today.**

**Me: Which is**_** rare**_**, I warn you. Mmm, but as do I. On with the chapter!**

**Chapter Three**

_~ "You may feel the sun's warmth, but even you cannot touch it." ~_

It had been a nice day. Had been. There's never a truly and one hundred percent _nice_ day in the feudal era. Something will always come along and mess it up. It's like a law of the universe or something. "Oh look, Kagome is having a wonderful day, what can we do to screw it up?"

And it had been nice. It had indeed. It was decently warm out, not too hot, not too cold. Just right. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, but enough to keep the children entertained with guessing shapes. There had been no call from the jewel shards, no sense of demons, no sense of anything dangerous. Miroku had only groped Sango once, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had not fought at all, and even Inuyasha and Shippou were getting along just great. The river they stopped at to cool down in and relax at was refreshing without being freezing. It was a calm, pleasant, and overall peaceful day.

And of course, it couldn't stay that way. No, that would just be wonderful. And the universe simply can't have that.

So along comes this huge -thing- that absolutely reeks of Naraku, and it just sets off Inuyasha, who practically throws himself at it, but of course the thing just bats him aside. Sesshomaru doesn't even bother to join in on the fight, just leans himself up against a tree and watches as Inuyasha makes a complete fool of himself. Sango immediately chucks Hiraikotsu at the thing, and manages to sever an arm, but two grow back in its place. Miroku, one can obviously tell, feels absolutely useless because saimyosho were flitting about the clearing they happened to be resting in at the time of the attack. He's left throwing sutras at the severed appendages, though they do little good.

The children are off hiding behind Ah-Un, with Jaken as their protector. Some good that will do, as the huge monster won't even turn any of his four eyes in Jaken's direction. And there Kagome was, the target of the monster's fury, standing defenselessly behind Inuyasha, her arrows having been left by the river when the attack suddenly came. She had no time to pick them up before the creature shot one of its creepy arm things at her.

This attack had clearly ruined her day. Now back to the present.

The demon let out a furious roar, unable to get past Inuyasha. While this may have seemed like a good thing, Inuyasha was also unable to fight proactively and guard Kagome from the demon at the same time.

"Where's the shard?" he yelled, never taking his eyes off the demon in front of him.

Kagome peeked around Inuyasha and scanned the hideous blackish-purple body of the demon for the glow of the shard. Finally spotting it, she ducked back behind him.

"It's in his ankle." Inuyasha smirked. He could do that. He rushed forward, swinging Tessaiga in a downwards swing, hitting the ground with a battle cry, letting the wind scar rage towards the demon in front of them. It succeeded in ripping the monster to shreds, severing all limbs from the ankle that held shard, preventing the regeneration process, or at least slowing it down. He was, admittedly, a tiny bit shocked that it had been so easy, though he was too proud to say it out loud.

Kagome darted forward to the severed ankle, making a face as she reached down to claim the shard that was embedded within the flesh, her mind tugging at her that something was wrong. She heard a warning cry from someone behind her, just as her fingertips hit the edge of the flesh surround the jewel. Unfortunately, the warning didn't come in time. In an attempt to regenerate and to hit its target, a severed limb had flown towards her.

Giving a strangled cry, Kagome was thrown backwards, getting knocked cleanly off her feet. Flying at least 50 feet by the force of impact, she landed squarely in the middle of river, before she came up choking and sputtering.

Inuyasha growled at the demon which was slowly putting itself back together, gruesomely piece by piece. He made to swing his Tessaiga at the thing again when it completely ignored him, letting the sword slide through its arm as it batted him aside. Sango was tending to Miroku, who had foolishly tried to take in some of the severed limbs and had taken in some of the poisonous insects as well, and only had time to warn Kagome as she crawled from the river, shaking water from her eyes.

Kagome looked up just in time to see the demon lumbering towards her, and Inuyasha peeling himself off a tree. She was a little peeved that Sesshomaru had yet to do _anything_ to help their situation when she was clearly in a desperate circumstance, but it wasn't as if she expected anything else. Looking around frantically, she spotted her arrows off to her side, remembering having dropped them their when the demon suddenly showed up out of nowhere. She most definitely would have some part of this fight.

She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bow and an arrow, taking careful aim at the creature's ankle. It wasn't difficult in the sense that he was getting closer and closer, but the fact that it kept moving was a bit frustrating. She couldn't get an accurate aim on the area of the shard and the demon was nearly upon her.

When the demon let out what one could only have guessed to be a growl of some sort, she nearly squealed, and let go of the arrow by accident. The arrow was surrounded in a beautiful blue light, and though it nearly missed the ankle, it hit it. Kagome nearly let out a breath of relief, until the demon let out a wail of agony and burst into a billion pieces, showering Kagome and the others in gooey demon guts. All, of course, except for Sesshomaru and the kids, who were hiding safely away from the battlefield, either too young or too high and mighty for this lowly battle.

And in the midst of it all, a bug flew down and took the shard making the fight absolutely worthless.

"Oh gross. This is disgusting. My outfit is RUINED!" Kagome exclaimed, picking particularly large pieces of demon-bits off herself.

Inuyasha glared at her, removing a chunk of what was left of the arm from his hair. "It's your fault! You just had to go and explode him, didn't you?"

"Oh, gee Inuyasha. Didn't you know? Exploding demons and covering myself in their gooey guts and insides is a secret pleasure of mine! It just makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside!" Kagome shouted and Inuyasha visibly flinched, though the hot headed hanyou knew not when to back down.

"You didn't have to go and jump in! You could've gotten yourself killed!" He argued right back, and while he had a fair point, Kagome just seethed even more.

"It's not as if I _asked _to be thrown headfirst into the water! And I definitely didn't ask for the freaky demon thing to come after me! You certainly took your time attacking it though!"

"I was getting there! At least if I had killed it we wouldn't be covered in this crap!"

Kagome went silent, just glared at him. Inuyasha knew he had stepped just a little over the line and though he met her glare defiantly, his ears flattened slightly.

"Inuyasha…. SIT! You JERK! SIT! I could've died! SIT! And you have the gall to blame ME for YOUR incompetence? SIT! Why I never! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT! And now I'm covered in smelly guts because you have no patience and rush into things, and have no strategy, and I was stuck scrambling to save my life! SIT! And when you get out of that crater, I want a hot springs!" Kagome yelled at the now gigantic hole in the ground, with a faint outline of hanyou at the bottom.

Kagome spun on her heel and glared at a particularly clean demon lord. Stalking towards him, she took in a huge breath and gave him her most intimidating glare, which while it was nowhere near intimidating to him, he was a tad surprised. Just a tad.

"And YOU! You are so lucky I don't have a rosary around YOUR neck, because I can't believe you just stood there all la-di-da and watched! If I had a rosary around you, you would be in a deeper hole then Inuyasha!" Kagome took a deep breath and turned to look at Sango and Miroku, who were staring at her with wide eyes, hardly noticing the muck covering them. She gave them a gentle smile, and motioned to her bag.

"Sango, I think you know the medicine that he needs. That was really stupid of you Miroku, but appreciated." Sango just gave a slight nod, before standing up and retrieving the bag to search for the antidote to the insect's poison. As Kagome slipped into river fully clothed to get some of the muck off, the clearing was silent, still in shock over her outburst.

}-{

Sesshomaru stared in mild fascination at the young slip of a girl who had just screamed at him for doing nothing. Never before had someone done that and gotten away alive. Never before had someone done that, actually, not even his father. His father was more diplomatic, or into the punishments. Yet this young girl who not only destroyed a demon that his fool of half-brother could hardly scratch, but had gone from absolutely livid to calm in no time at all, had the courage to go off completely at him. Not even the strongest demons he had encountered had the courage to do so. Even the other cardinal lords knew better.

And he was hardly offended by anything she said. It was true; he had stood by and watched. He would not have let her die, and perhaps not her friends the monk or the slayer because that would upset her, had the situation arisen. However, it had not, so he had had no need to step in. Inuyasha had it under control, barely. It was more of the combination of the group's distractions and his pure luck that allowed him to injure the huge demon, not to mention the fact the demon hardly seemed to know up from down.

Why dirty his hands, though, when he did not have too? And it was no secret he enjoyed watching the hanyou humiliate himself.

Though, he supposed, there was an ulterior motive to his standing on the sidelines. Yes, he did want to amuse himself by watching Inuyasha get thrown around, and though he would never admit to it, he knew they could take down the monster without his help, but there were other reasons as to why he needed to be away from the center of action. And they all centered on a young miko who was trying to scrub the gunk from her clothes.

The girl, while he had little remaining doubts she was the same, he was still Sesshomaru and absolutely could not stand to be wrong. Indeed, there had been that one time the girl had shot an arrow at he himself, and very nearly injured him. Not greatly, but it would have at least caused a shock. He had deflected it of course, but the girl's powers seemed not to have been awoken and focused on that day. Since then, on the days he had watched her, she seemed to have gotten infinitely better not only at her shot, but with her miko powers. He knew that if she really were the human he was looking for; her powers were only beginning to manifest.

So he had sat out this pathetic battle to watch her. He was disappointed at first. All the girl did was hide behind Inuyasha and rely on his sword, and her friends' strength, to take the demon down. She just told the location of the jewel shard, which while helpful, did little to actually end the battle. In fact, seeing as she was the target of the demon in the first place, her being out in the open as such was completely pointless and a danger to her safety.

Then she just rushed forward to claim the shard and got herself knocked into the water, which he supposed was better, for it prevented injuries had she landed on the ground. Inuyasha barely held his own against the demon, allowing it to nearly attack the girl, who luckily was able to reach her bow and arrows and take aim. Nevertheless, the girl was clearly frightened and couldn't shoot a moving target very well, and her shot was pure luck. The holy energies surrounding the arrow were a nice touch, however. Much better than the arrow she had once shot at him.

The fact remained that the girl was clearly lacking the protection she thought she had from Inuyasha. Watching this battle let Sesshomaru understand as such, and this was not acceptable. His human was to be protected. No harm would come to her, and she, though strong as he knew she was, should only resort to using her power when need be.

That left the problem of the demon in the first place. It had been the first sign of Naraku in the week since he, Sesshomaru, had joined the group. It made little sense for Naraku to just attack. Well, being Naraku, no it did not, but he had to have some reason, stupid or not.

Sesshomaru figured that Naraku was probably testing out how strong the alliance between he and his moronic half-brother was. Obviously, his test failed, given that Sesshomaru had not even bothered to lift a finger. Although, that may lead Naraku to believing that alliance was weak, which was wrong. It was not strong, that was indeed true. It was not hard to see that he would never rush to Inuyasha's aid, or stop him from dying of a fatal injury. Those were his own problems. However, they were working as a group to accomplish the same task. Nonetheless, that did not mean Sesshomaru was required to be a part of every single battle Inuyasha decided to participate in.

Though it would prove beneficial if Naraku knew they were allianced and now traveled together, for it was possible fewer attacks would come, and it would probably quicken his search for the remaining shards. After all, nearly the entire world knew that he feared Sesshomaru. And Inuyasha, Sesshomaru thought, though he would never admit it, was a decent enough fighter. He could never defeat a decently sized foe, but he held up on his own. He was still much too rash and had far too great a temper, and those would ultimately be his downfall.

And now that Naraku knew they were together, he would wish to get stronger faster, and then fight as soon as possible. Which brought Sesshomaru to what he thought might happen. Naraku was not entirely stupid. He did have his strategic moments. And because he knew that two of his greatest enemies were now, slowly but surely, making their way to his doom, he would do his best to split them up or cause harm to some of them. There could be two possible paths to his plan, Sesshomaru thought. Naraku would either try to divide up Inuyasha and himself, or he would keep attacking them randomly to wear them down so when it was finally time to battle, nobody would be fit for it and it would be easy pickings.

Either way he did it, Sesshomaru was going to make sure the human girl was protected. Inuyasha clearly seemed to fail at doing so.

}-{

Kagome sunk into the hot springs, sighing with pleasure. Inuyasha had been quick to find one, probably afraid she'd sit him again. The river had gotten most of the gunk off of her, but the hot water felt nice and assured her that she would be clean.

"I love baths." She murmured, closing her eyes as she leant back against a rock.

"Rin does too! But Rin doesn't stop for many in hot springs because Rin follows Lord Sesshomaru, and sometimes Lord Sesshomaru goes places where there aren't any hot springs. But Rin doesn't mind." The cheerful little girl exclaimed with a grin from where she was sitting.

"Rin, have you always talked like that?" Sango asked the child.

"Does Sango mean does Rin speak by saying Rin?" Rin questioned, confused.

"Uh, yes… I think."

"Rin has always talked like Rin. Lord Sesshomaru talks as Lord Sesshomaru, so Rin talks like Rin. But sometimes Lord Sesshomaru tries to make Rin be formal and say things like I and me, but Rin forgets a lot."

Kagome looked over the girl curiously. "Rin, how old are you?"

"Rin is eight!"

Kagome looked at Sango, who nodded. Turning back to the girl who was looking puzzled but curiously between them, Kagome posed a question. "Rin, if you would like, I can teach you."

"Teach Rin what?"

"Well, everything that I know. And what I don't know about this trade and farming and demons and such, Sango will help. Miroku will probably help with herbs and such as well. Would you like that? We're going to be traveling together for awhile, so we'll have a lot of time to spend."

Rin's eyes lit up and she squealed. "Oh that would be just great! Rin would love that. But Rin has to ask Lord Sesshomaru first. Jaken was supposed to be teaching Rin, but he stopped because Jaken thinks Rin is annoying."

Kagome smiled. "Just leave Sesshomaru to me. We'll be teaching you by tomorrow."

}-{

"Um, Sesshomaru?"

The Lord didn't stir from where he was sitting with his back against a tree, eyes closed.

"Sesshomaru?"

Not even a twitch.

"Sesshoooomaruuu?"

Still no response. Kagome put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot childishly. "Sesshomaru! I want to speak to you and I demand that you open your eyes and respond this instant!"

A single golden eye opened and looked up at her. She gulped, but smiled. "There, that wasn't so hard."

"What is so important that you have disturbed this Sesshomaru's rest?"

"Well you see, I noticed that Rin speaks in third person a lot, and well I'm educated, so I was wondering, if it was all right with you and all, if I could teach her to the best of my ability." Kagome said, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking slightly, suddenly nervous. What if he said no?

"Jaken is teaching her." Sesshomaru knew very well Jaken had stopped teaching Rin the same day he had demanded he teach her.

"Well Rin says he's not." Defiance against Sesshomaru… Kagome wasn't sure if this was going to end well.

"If this Sesshomaru were to let you teach Rin, how would it be known that you were teaching Rin accurate knowledge?" Sesshomaru questioned, and Kagome felt like he was more teasing her now than actually debating with her. Although she wasn't sure if Sesshomaru teased.

"Well I have my books…"

"Books?"

"Ah, yes… Would you like to read them before I show them to Rin? I can start by teaching her things like how to read and talk properly." Kagome went out on a limb, assuming he had already accepted her as the teacher and made it more of interactive process with Sesshomaru, something she knew he wouldn't deny.

"This Sesshomaru accepts the conditions. You may teach Rin after the materials have been reviewed."

Kagome squealed and refrained from hugging Sesshomaru, something she was certain was going to kill her. It was a miracle she had convinced him of this much. She thanked him and then danced away to tell Rin. Sesshomaru watched her go, amused. She had yelled at him, again, been persistent, and offered terms. She was turning out to be much more interesting than he thought.

**Me: Again, I'm back from the grave. I hope this terrible chapter makes up for something…..**

**Rebbie: Psh. As if. Nobody's even going to read this because you were gone too long.**

**Me: Someone can kill her. Anyone. Please. I'll give you a virtual cookie!**


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